Investigation of the structure of the intermediate state produced by a current in single crystal and polycrystalline cylindrical superconductors. I. Measurements on tin near T c

The structure of the intermediate state produced by a current in thick tin cylinders near the critical temperature is investigated. A static structure, for which the quantity and thickness of the n -domains depend on the quantity R/Rn, was observed in a single crystal specimen up to the origination of the n -shell (up to R/Rn ≈ 0.5). The structure of the intermediate state in polycrystalline specimens is determined by the size of individual crystals and the scatter of their superconducting characteristics.